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Rob Keeley

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.robkeeley.co.uk

Twitter

RobKeeleyAuthor

Genre

Children's, Young Adult, Fantasy

Member Since

July 2015

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/robkeeleyauthor

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I'm an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and drama, particularly for children and a family audience.

I am the creator of the Spirits series of ghost novels and the fourth of these, "High Spirits" was published in October 2017 and was honoured with a win at the Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Awards. The first in the series, "Childish Spirits", was longlisted for the Bath Children's Novel Award and the WriteMentor Children's Novel Award, as well as being nominated for the People's Book Prize. The second in the series, "The Spirit of London" was highly commended for the Independent Author Book Award. I also had a collection of short stories for children ("The Dinner Club and Other Stories") longlisted for the International Rubery Book Award I'm an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and drama, particularly for children and a family audience.

I am the creator of the Spirits series of ghost novels and the fourth of these, "High Spirits" was published in October 2017 and was honoured with a win at the Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Awards. The first in the series, "Childish Spirits", was longlisted for the Bath Children's Novel Award and the WriteMentor Children's Novel Award, as well as being nominated for the People's Book Prize. The second in the series, "The Spirit of London" was highly commended for the Independent Author Book Award. I also had a collection of short stories for children ("The Dinner Club and Other Stories") longlisted for the International Rubery Book Award. My first picture book for younger children, "My Favourite People" was published in 2018. In 2019 the final Spirits novel "The Coming of the Spirits" was published and "Childish Spirits" was published as an eBook and an audiobook. In 2020 I was Children's Writer in Residence at the Stay at Home Literary Festival. My first standalone novel for the 8-12s, "The Treasure in the Tower" and my second picture book "Carrots Don't Grow On Trees!" were published in 2021.

My first novel for adults, a murder mystery called "Death At Friar's Inn", was published in March 2022. That year, I also had a short story for children 'Guess What?' shortlisted at the Searchlight Writing for Children Awards. It has now been published in my new collection in March 2023, "The Boy Who Disappeared and Other Stories". My latest novel for children "The Teacher Who Knew Too Much" is published in 2024. Also in 2024, the Spirits series celebrated its tenth anniversary with a new, special edition of "Childish Spirits". A brand-new Spirits novel "The Fighting Spirit" was published for Christmas 2024.

I have also written for BBC Radio and my one-act stage comedy "Mr Everyone" has been longlisted for the Kenneth Branagh and Alfred Bradley Awards.

I have a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing with Distinction from Lancaster University and in 2015 completed a course in Filmmaking from the National Film and Television School, with a course in Screenwriting following in 2016. In 2016-7 I was a judge for the IGGY and Litro Young Writers' Prize. I am a supporter of the Children's Media Foundation.

I hold author workshops in schools and other venues and one teacher described these as "inspirational"! In May 2024 my workshops were honoured with an award nomination for Fearless Freelancer at the Northern Cultural Education Awards.

For more information, please visit www.robkeeley.co.uk or follow me on X @RobKeeleyAuthor. I have free review copies of my books available, so please contact me if you would like to review! I am particularly keen to hear from BookTubers.
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Rob Keeley’s books

Average rating: 4.2 · 130 ratings · 102 reviews · 27 distinct works

	Childish Spirits 4.03 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sword of the Spirit 4.62 avg rating — 13 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Spirit of London 4.64 avg rating — 11 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	High Spirits 4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Favourite People 3.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Coming of the Spirits (Spirits, #5) 4.25 avg rating — 8 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death At Friar's Inn 3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Teacher Who Knew Too Much 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fighting Spirit 4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Treasure in the Tower 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rob Keeley's Blog

Need a writing coach?

Do you need a writing tutor or mentor? I'm an award-winning author and have been working with aspiring authors since 2013! See new page on my website...

https://www.robkeeley.co.uk/mentoring...

Email me to find out more!

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Published on May 12, 2026 03:10

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Rob Keeley wrote a new blog post Need a writing coach? Do you need a writing tutor or mentor? I'm an award-winning author and have been working with aspiring authors since 2013! See new page on my website. Read more of this blog post »
May 12, 2026 03:10AM · like
Rob Keeley rated a book really liked it The Clocker by Liz Mackenzie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Liz Mackenzie is a former student of mine and worked on this book during our mentoring, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to review the final, published work. It's a delightful, charming and witty novel for middle-grade, about a boy called Ne ...more
May 01, 2026 12:40AM · 1 like · like · see review
Rob Keeley liked Miss Jai Mackenzie's review of The Clocker: "I might be a little biased because the author is my mum, but I genuinely loved The Clocker. It’s a warm, engaging story that kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters are so real and relatable, from hero Nev to school bully Kez, you can’t h" Read more of this review »
May 01, 2026 12:39AM · see review
Rob Keeley liked Erin J Kahn's review of Childish Spirits: "I can never say enough about Rob Keeley's Spirits series, in particular, the first book in that series: Childish Spirits. I first "read" it (actually I listened to the audiobook, which was also a great time) several years ago. I thought it was sweet," Read more of this review »
Apr 20, 2026 12:35AM · see review
Rob Keeley and 3 other people liked Nicki's review of Childish Spirits: "New review for July 2024 This was good fun, and really nice to revisit a story that I originally reviewed back in 2019. This is a special 10th Anniversary edition full of extra material that was left out of the original book, so like a director’s cut." Read more of this review »
Apr 20, 2026 12:33AM · see review
Rob Keeley finished reading The Fighting Spirit by Rob Keeley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 23, 2025 12:48AM · like
Rob Keeley is now following Brittney Lou and Katie
Oct 21, 2025 01:16AM
Rob Keeley is now following Robin Murarka Author of Akin
Oct 02, 2025 04:14AM · 1 like · like
Rob Keeley is now following Jasmine Cartwright Author of Please Excuse Our Confusion
Sep 15, 2025 06:54AM · 1 like · like

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Quotes by Rob Keeley (?)

“There was a face there. Someone was watching her...

It was the face of a boy.

Of about her own age...”
― Rob Keeley, Childish Spirits

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“Master Edward is now my property. He'll be gone from here before another night has passed.”
― Rob Keeley, Childish Spirits

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“I'm in a hurry, Ben. I'm leaving the country, tonight. But first, I need Dodie one more time.”
― Rob Keeley, The Teacher Who Knew Too Much

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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❀The Never-ending...: May Museum Challenge- UNIVERSAL LOG	148	148	Jun 01, 2021 12:57AM
G.N.A. Publishing...: * Post your book excerpt & get featured for free!	537	383	Sep 13, 2021 01:00PM
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Rob’s Quotes

“I think you should be a child for as long as you can. I have been successful for 74 years being able to do that.”
― Bob Newhart

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“When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They’re in everything you do. They’re in the air you breathe and the water you drink and the blood in your veins. Their touch stays on your skin and their voice stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind. You know their dreams because their nightmares pierce your heart and their good dreams are your dreams too. And you don’t think they’re perfect, but you know their flaws, the deep-down truth of them, and the shadows of all their secrets, and they don’t frighten you away; in fact you love them more for it, because you don’t want perfect. You want them.”
― Cassandra Clare, Lady Midnight

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“How do you go from teaching Maths to robbing banks?”
― Rob Keeley, The Teacher Who Knew Too Much

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“I'm in a hurry, Ben. I'm leaving the country, tonight. But first, I need Dodie one more time.”
― Rob Keeley, The Teacher Who Knew Too Much

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“The prisoner, Oscar, has been found guilty of insulting my hairstyle and being very rude to teachers. There can be no penalty great enough for such crimes.”
― Rob Keeley, The Boy Who Disappeared and Other Stories

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